


The freezing in our bones

by That_peach_anon



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Drowning, Snow Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:02:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26353117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/That_peach_anon/pseuds/That_peach_anon
Summary: Virgil and Janus enjoy a snow day! Too bad things don't go as they planned.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	The freezing in our bones

Janus cringed as his little brother and he stood in the thin, recently frozen, ice. He suddenly regretted the idea of running out of his house with no shoes on, the biting of cold on the soles of his feet a constant reminder. However, right now, he had important things to worry about, i.e. his younger brother on the verge of tears.   
Virgil was shaking in place; a child riddled with such anxiety shouldn’t have trusted his known for lying brother. Maybe it was the fact he wished to get away from Remus or maybe the need to occupy his mind from the shadows looming over his thoughts, an unbearable weight pressing against his chest and cutting his breathing short, that lead him to follow Janus outside, but he was starting to regret that decision. Thinking nothing of the sly smirk on his sibling’s face, Virgil followed him through the imagination, not paying too much mind to the slowly decreasing temperature. He assumed his hoodie was simply too thin, being grossly corrected as he realized there was now snow crunching under his sneakers, creating a pleasant noise.   
As much as Virgil loved snow, fate was unforgiving and decided to ruin one of the only things he still enjoyed, breaking down any and all ways of manifesting happiness in the small child. The siblings had had a harsh life, with their isolation to the dark side only to receive news the original creativity had split. With the split came the chaotic child that is Remus, spreading darkness and uncomfortable feelings to the anxious side. Back to the task at hand, Virgil refocused on the current situation, ignoring the wobbliness of his legs or the heaviness that had settled over his eyes, probably hypothermia setting in.  
The wind biting at his skin and making him shiver was numb to him, the bite now being gone, replaced by the lack of warmth radiating from the boy. His brother was a bit better, wearing layers and layers of clothes, ready for the occasion of snow, seeing, as he was the one who prepared the chilly escapade. He shuttered once more, hugging his arms in an effort to keep any warmth before he promptly fainted. The sickness kicking in was probably the only thing distracting him from the unabated he would be feeling by now, the situation barely registering in his foggy mind.  
His eyes snapped down as a crack resonated from under his feet, the thin ice barely holding itself from giving out from underneath the frail child. His brother also heard the noise, his thin snake eye observing the small child as he analyzed the situation. From the corner of his eye, Janus spotted his cane, which was a long staff with a hook end, perfect for… grabbing… people. An idea hit him, as his eyes widened. This would be risky but it was all he could think of. His eyes kept snapping between the younger of the two and the staff. Maybe…  
Virgil felt tears well up in his eyes, blurring his vision and only worsening his now currently setting panic, breath quickening and hiccups ripped from his throat. Now that one of the hiccups came out, he couldn’t stop any of them, fully sobbing as Janus’ eyes softened. In his distress, he tried moving forward, just wanting to get out of there and be able to retreat to his own room. The ice disagreed with his decision, the crack worsening and causing a whole new wave of panic to hit him.  
“Virgil. Virgil!” His brother shouted, a forced smile on his sibling’s face. “Hey, Virge. I need you to play a game with me, okay?” Janus asked, watching as his brother shook his head, hushed “no’s” spilling from his mouth.  
“No! You always trick me! I’m not going to play any games with you!” His brother yelled back, fists tightening around his arms, grip turning knuckle-white as his shaking worsened.  
“Hey, hey, hey. I’m not going to trick you this time.” His voice was soft, holding a slightly warm tone. “I need you to play hopscotch with me, okay? Just like we always do in the forest.”  
Janus demonstrated that by hopping forward, ignoring the spike of fear that went through him as one of his feet met the ice. The crack under Janus only reacted slightly, the frozen water thickening the closer it got to the solid lake’s shore. The small childish move coming from the older lying side made Virgil laugh, the sound mixing with a sob. The small anxiety tried to mimic it, skipping forward as he did while playing. All joy drained as the ice cracked, the tears falling from his eyes now intensifying.   
“Janus!” He yelled, trying to not blackout from the cold and lack of air he was having from the starts of a panic attack. His brother only smiled, jumping thrice before lading close enough to his staff, slowly lowering himself.  
“That’s it, V. Just a little more.” He comforted, stretching his arm towards the stick, watching as the child sniffled before jumping twice, the cracking of ice intensifying any panic Virgil had once had. The lying side took a hold of the polished wooden shaft, swinging it so he could hold it with both hands. Virgil was stuck in place now, the fear having taken control of him, freezing him in front of Janus as the latter leaned forward a bit, now standing back up. “Just one more jump.”  
As soon as the black-clad wearing infant jumped forward, deceit grabbed him by the waist with the staff, using all his bodily weight to change their places, throwing himself at the large crack in the ice instead. Virgil let out a yelp as he was thrown, falling on his side as soon as gravity did its job. He slowly stood up, legs still shaky as he focused in on Janus, the lying teen now stood up on the crack smiling at Virgil.  
Both sides looked at each other in joy, the smaller of the two letting out a whoop as they celebrated. The only warning they got was the deafening noise, the ice breaking beneath Janus’ feet, his body instantly plummeting into cold water.  
His eyes burned as the water filled his field of vision, a distant sound of “Janus!” coming from Virgil. The chill of the liquid started reaching his skin, seeping through his thick layers of clothing, a chill settling deep in his bones. The cold quickly conquered his existence, taking over his thoughts, the only thing passing through his mind being the word “cold” in repeat. He now noticed how the icy temperature took away any feeling on his hands and feet, leaving the appendages numb and cold.  
His eyes started fluttering shut against his will, all thoughts escaping through his nostrils simultaneously as the air from his lungs did. His mind was so empty, he wasn’t able to recognize as a thin fishing line with a hook at the end lowered into the water. The hook pierced the back of his shirt, the line going deeper with Janus before it tensed, working against the sinking action of the deceitful snake. In the blink of an eye, Janus was pulled higher, still fainted from the lack of air and cold temperature. Slowly, the ambient around him started to warm up, the top of the lake already melted, the smallest pieces on ice floating on its surface.  
As soon as he broke the surface, he started spluttering and coughing, struggling to get any amount of oxygen on his lungs. Swinging his legs, he realized he was dangling over the water, a toothy-grinned Remus and a teary-eyed Virgil staring at him.  
“Look at what I caught!” Remus shouted, Janus’ eyes flickering to the fishing rod tightly held in between the creative side’s hands. His gaze followed the rod, eyes stopping when the fishing pole ended over his head, behind his back. Being a child Remus’ logic adhered to how a cartoon might function, demonstrated when Remus pulled his arms back, and sending Janus over to the other two dark sides. He was immediately hugged around the neck by shaking small arms, those of Virgil, and squeezing arms around his chest, those of Remus.  
He felt the tears gathering in his eyes as he hugged the two back, squeezing the children tight as his mind finally registered the situation happening now. Maybe he shouldn’t have tried to play on such thin ice when he knew the risks, but he couldn’t care less as Virgil pulled away, a teary smile making its way into his face. For now, he would worry about his fellow dark sides, no matter the temperature.


End file.
